Yojana, a monthly magazine published by the Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, is dedicated to highlighting socio-economic issues in an unbiased manner.

‘Yojana’ is a very useful and essential magazine for UPSC CSE aspirants where they find the discussion on problems of economic and social development of our country. Many UPSC CSE aspirants end up losing a lot of time to extract major discussions from it. Hence, Netaji IAS provides you a comprehensive gist of the Yojana Magazine.

Kurukshetra is a monthly journal published by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.

It is aimed at carrying the massage of Rural Development to the people. In fact, it serves as a forum of serious discussion of the various issues related to rural development with special focus on overall rural upliftment.The summary of articles are prepared by Netaji IAS in a synoptic and analytical form.

The Big Picture is one of the most watched debate programme in India. It is known mainly for its participants who are retired officials of govt. service , skilled analysts and editors of newspapers .Big Picture covers important current issues . The summary of this programme is very useful for mains answer writing.

Lok Sabha TV Insight is very interesting to watch as it provides in-depth discussion of various economic and political issues through pointwise explanation throughout the programme. If you watch the video you can take down important points by your own. They highlight and shows important points.Netaji IAS provides summary of important programmes

All India Radio Spotlight News Analysis covers all major current issues . Eminent person from various fields participate in AIR discussions. Spotlight News Analysis is the summary of important AIR programmes

UPSC Civil Services Preperation: FAQs about the preliminary exam

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the prestigious civil services examination for recruiting candidates into prestigious posts in the administration including IAS, IRS, IPS, IFS etc. UPSC is an organisation that works under the government of India to recruit staff for various posts in various ministries and departments and in subordinate offices.So as to clear any doubts regarding the exam, we have answered here a few commonly asked questions regarding the same:

What are the civil services Preperation? How to become an IAS Officer ?

The UPSC conducts the civil services examination for recruitment to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and other central services and posts in accordance with the rules published by the Department of Personnel and Training in the gazette of India extraordinary.This preliminary examination is meant to serve as a screening test only.

What are the types of services offered in civil services?

Group- A services

Indian Administrative Service

Indian Foreign Service

Indian Police Service

Indian P & T Accounts & Finance Service

Indian Audit and Accounts Service

Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise)

Indian Defence Accounts Service

Indian Revenue Service (I.T.)

Indian Ordnance Factories Service (Assistant Works Manager, Administration)

Super Time Scale: Rs 1,00,000 to Rs 2,00,000 along with grade pay of Rs 30,000

Above Super Time Scale: Rs 1,00,000 to Rs 2,00,000 along with grade pay of Rs 30,000

Apex Scale: Rs 12,25,000 (fixed)

Cabinet Secretary Grade: Rs 12,25,000 (fixed)

What is the educational qualification needed to appear in IAS exam?

The candidate must hold a degree of any of universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or any other educational institution established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a university under section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification.

What are the age limit?

According to the latest advertisement issued by UPSC 2018, minimum age required to appear in this exam is 21 years.

What are the number of attempts permitted to write UPSC Civil Services Exam?

For general category candidates: 6For OBC: 9For a candidate belonging to SC/ST category: Unlimited (there is no restriction on number of attempts for SC/ST category).

Can the IAS exam be cleared without taking coaching? There have been many instances where candidates have cleared the exam without actually taking any coaching and spending sleepless nights. But still, this varies from person to person. If you are disciplined enough with your schedule and won’t get distracted at home, self-studying may yield a good result.

On the other hand, taking a coaching will help you interact with fellow students, discuss problems and get your doubts cleared by the professor on the spot.

What is the structure of UPSC Civil Service prelims exam?

Paper-I- General Studies – This paper will be counted for qualifying to write the Civil Services Mains exam.

Paper- II (CSAT)- Aptitude test (CSAT) – This paper is of qualifying nature, but candidate must score at least 33 per cent marks in this paper. However, marks of this paper are not counted for writing the Mains examination.

What is the structure of the Civil Service Civil Service Preparation / Examination?

The Civil Services Examination (CSE) comprises of two successive stages:

Civil Services (Preliminary) examination

Civil Services (Main) examination (written and interview)

What is the scheme of Civil Service Preparation (Preliminary) Examination?

The examination shall comprise of two compulsory papers of 200 marks each

Both the question papers will be of objective type (multiple choice questions)

The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English

Details of the syllabi will be provided in the examination notice and gazette notificationpublished by the government

Each paper will be of two hours duration

Important things to know before you start preparation

Below are 8 key points one should know before starting preparation for the UPSC Examination 2018:

1. Know the UPSC Exam datesAs written in the UPSC guidelines, the exam dates are subject to change. So, the candidates must keep a constant check on the official website for notification of change in dates.

2. Why IAS? / PI quotientAs the UPSC is one of top competitive exams of India, the candidate should get their PI (personal interview) quotient evaluated so as to get a clear mindset throughout the preparation process. In the personality test, your candidature would be measured against your performance.

3. Set your targetUnder UPSC, there are different examinations like IPS, IRS and IFS. All the candidates are advised to get their target set for a particular service so that they can keep a better focus and prepare accordingly.

4. How your work will contribute to the nation?After applying for the UPSC examination, one should know his caliber and what changes you can bring about in the nation. As soon as you get the clear vision, start preparing with strategic planning to set you apart from other aspirants.Moreover, these questions will definitely help you in cracking the interview session.

5. Yes! IAS preparation is incredibly demandingWhile preparing for the most competitive examination, there is no definite answer for the most commonly asked questions like how many hours an IAS aspirant needs to put in every day.It fully depends on the grasping power of the student.Statements from experts:

Experts believe that aggressive preparation for 10-12 months is a must

The candidate must map out an effective strategy and decide ideal number of hours required to implement that strategy

One must be aware of the fact that the preparation for civil services examination calls for qualitative and not quantitative preparation

Every day, two subjects should be covered. As seen, top rankers start preparing for exams right from their school days as most of the questions asked are from classes 6 to 12.

Needless to say, the right books, the right coaching and the right motivation is of paramount importance to crack the exam.

6. Outline the syllabus and design your preparationIf you were a biology stream student, you would definitely be familiar with a word “catabolism”. It is a process in which original components are broken down into their by-products. A candidate can do the same with your IAS syllabus.Check out the topics you are good at and the topics you would need help in.

7. Objectifying the syllabusAfter seeing the bulk of IAS syllabus, most children get disheartened. But it’s not that huge as most of the basic concepts are from the subjects studied in school.To crack the examination, one should study smart. For this, the aspirant should divide the subjects into manageable chunks.

8. Study while enjoyingThere is no doubt in saying that UPSC preparation is a lengthy process. However, the moment you start enjoying your preparation, all the unwarranted stress and anxiety associated with the preparation will vanish.Usually, the aspirants forget all their hobbies. But the fact is that pursuing hobbies will make your preparation more fun.